


I’ll hold on to the place where I was with you

by sakuplumeria



Series: Luvly, Merry-Go-Round [2]
Category: Tantei Gakuen Q | Detective Academy Q
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Family, Friendship, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26856169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakuplumeria/pseuds/sakuplumeria
Summary: Kyuu visited his dad's grave for the first time with his mom. Turned out Ryuu also visited someone else's grave nearby.Who would have expected that later on, they encountered the mystery of the dead?
Relationships: Amakusa Ryuu & Renjou Kyuu, Amakusa Ryuu/Renjou Kyuu
Series: Luvly, Merry-Go-Round [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1957429
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	I’ll hold on to the place where I was with you

**Author's Note:**

> There will be spoilers since I directly followed the timeline of the canon, manga version.  
> Please see end note for any references :)

Kyuu woke up to the smell of brewed coffee. He opened his eyes and found that the sun had risen up. It was a holiday so Kyuu did not set his alarm clock. It was so nice to wake up that way, Kyuu thought.

He arrived at the dining table downstairs at the same time his mom put down his coffee. “Kyuu, we’re going out after this,” his mom sat beside him. Kyuu slurped his coffee before looking at his mom, “Go? Where?” There was a tender smile on his mom’s face, “We’re going to visit your dad’s grave.”

It had been a year since Kyuu’s mom told the truth about Renjou Satoru, right after the Seiryuukan Murder Case. Nonetheless, Kyuu still addressed his dad as _‘Ojisan’_ or uncle, just because he was used to calling him that way since little. It was awkward to have conversations about _him_ at first, but the familial love for Renjou Satoru made Kyuu and his mom less awkward as time went by. That day would be the first time Kyuu went to his dad’s grave.

* * *

Standing in front of his dad’s gravestone, Kyuu could not help the feeling that something was off. He asked his mom about it and his mom answered a little, but then she proceeded to talk about Renjou Satoru. About how hard they made the decision to get married even though both knew the marriage would not be pleasant, all the more for Kyuu. About how happy he was every time he got to meet Kyuu in the woods. About how he told her many times that he will continue to love her and Kyuu, even if something bad was to happen to him.

They ended their visit after an hour and they were heading out of the cemetery when Kyuu saw a glimpse of violet blue hair. “Hey mom, I think you can head back first,” Kyuu suddenly said. His mom stopped and turned to look at Kyuu with a speculative look, “What? Why?”

From the tone, Kyuu realized he had to give a proper explanation, so he answered honestly, “I think I saw Ryuu. I’m going to check and meet him if it’s true.”

“Oh, I see. Okay then,” his mom’s immediate consent proved her total belief in Ryuu, “Take your time, and if possible ask him to have lunch with us!” She winked before taking the wooden bucket from Kyuu’s hand and walked towards the entrance gate. Kyuu blinked a few times.

*

Having lost Ryuu’s trail, Kyuu walked by hunch and soon he found the violet blue hair in front of Dan-sensei’s gravestone. Ryuu had finished washing the stone monument and also arranging the incense and flowers. He was currently pressing his hands together, his head was bowed a little and his eyes were closed.

By the time Kyuu reached his side, Ryuu finished his prayers and opened his eyes. “Hey, Ryuu,” Kyuu spoke as softly as possible, not wanting his friend to startle.

Ryuu’s eyes got a bit wider, but he immediately recognized the voice so he moved to give Kyuu some space and turned his head to look at the shorter man, “Kyuu.”

Kyuu moved to stand before the gravestone and made the same gesture as Ryuu before.

After some time, Kyuu finished his prayers and they both stood in silence.

“I thought his one year.. _death.._ is in next month,” Kyuu broke the silence.

“You’re right,” Ryuu answered. “Today marks my grandfather’s death.”

Kyuu turned his head in surprise, “You mean..." Upon seeing the sorrow in his dear friend’s face, he lowered his head, “You’re right, last year we were there before the burning Seiryuukan hotel.”

Ryuu let out a deep breath. “Yeah, and honestly I don’t know where his body is buried, so I came here instead,” Ryuu looked at the gravestone before them, “I felt that their fate were closely intertwined and I can feel my grandfather’s presence here. Even though they were archenemies, they were once close friends. I want to trust that that did not change until the end, because, I believe they both still cared for each other, even in that burning hall.”

Kyuu was surprised by the remark, but he also believed that it was true. “I agree,” he smiled at Ryuu, “and you must have loved your grandfather very much.”

“Yeah, despite all, he was still my grandfather,” Ryuu’s cheeks had pink shades now. “Actually, I was determined to stay with him that day in the Jiaotsu hall.” Kyuu’s eyes went wide by Ryuu’s confession. “But then, he told me that I was not his real grandson, and then he released the last seal to my memories.”

“Then he instructed Cerberus to bring you to us,” Kyuu continued.

Ryuu nodded, “Deep down, I feel that my grandfather still had goodness inside him.”

Kyuu was amazed at his dear friend’s reasoning, even though he knew Ryuu’s life was the most affected by King Hades, and not in a good way.

Ryuu smiled and turned to see Kyuu, “Why are you here, Kyuu?”

Kyuu suddenly blushed at the remark, “O-oh, me? I just visited my dad’s grave.”

Ryuu’s face looked surprised, “Your dad’s?” He picked up the wooden bucket and smiled, “Please let me visit his grave as well.”

Kyuu led Ryuu to the same grave he just visited earlier.

Ryuu put down the bucket and prayed in front of the gravestone. After finishing his prayers he asked, “So how has it been with you and your mom?”

Kyuu proceeded to tell Ryuu that they were still awkward every time they brought Renjou Satoru in the conversations, but he noticed that her mom could smile genuinely now and her sadness was loosening as time went by. Ryuu was extremely happy to hear that his dear friend was also progressing in his struggle.

They both looked at the gravestone and stood in silence once again-

-until Ryuu noticed something, “Hey, Kyuu, isn’t this gravestone a bit off?”

By the remark, Kyuu immediately remembered his investigation from before. “Right! I felt the same and I asked my mom about it before she told stories about Ojisan.”

Ryuu’s eyes started gleaming with excitement, and so were Kyuu’s. “Mom only said that Ojisan prepared it beforehand and it was like that when she received it. She thinks Ojisan already prepared it for a long time since he was always facing uncertainties,” Kyuu recalled.

Ryuu inspected the gravestone once again, “But even so, this _‘up’_ at the very end shouldn’t be _this_ eroded.”

Now, they were both inspecting the carved words in the gravestone closely.

I **w** ill n **e** v **er** g **i** ve u **p**.  
I **f** a **d** et **e** ct **i** v **e** **g** iv **e** s up, **t** he **ca** se **wil** l **r** emai **n** **u** n **sol** ved.  
E **ven** i **f** d **e** ath **c** o **m** e **s** , **I** wil **l** n **e** ve **r** g **i** ve _up._

“I agree, there must be something else,” Kyuu touched his chin. “And it isn’t only the _‘up’_ word. I’m feeling that _the whole carving_ is off.”

“Yes, as if some characters were intentionally carved _thicker_ than the others…” Ryuu paused for a moment before adding, “could it be-”

They both looked at each other and simultaneously said, “Baconian cipher!”

They counted the letters and then Kyuu frowned, “There are 92 of them, shouldn’t Bacon’s code consist of letters multiples of five?”

Ryuu smiled, “That’s why he deliberately scraped the word _‘up’_.”

"Ah! You're right!" Kyuu’s eyes sparkled again.

Ryuu swiftly took his DDS notebook and prepared himself to take notes, “Okay, I’ll take notes of the patterns.”

“No need,” Kyuu answered in a deeper firm voice. They learned about the Baconian cipher the week before and since Kyuu was very interested, he memorized the patterns already. “I’ll decode it and say the letters.”

Ryuu was once again amazed in Kyuu’s capability in absorbing things that interested him. He took his time admiring Kyuu’s serious face before starting to write letters Kyuu decoded one by one.

_I L I V E W I T H I N Y O U K Y U U_

Ryuu then drew slashes between the possible words.

_I / L I V E / W I T H I N / Y O U / K Y U U_

Both of them read the words in their hearts. “I live within you, Kyuu,” Kyuu heard Satoru’s voice, and flashes of him appeared in his head. His eyes started brimming with tears.

Ryuu looked at his dear friend and was surprised to see the constrained tears. He put his notebook back to his pocket, moved closer and took Kyuu’s head in his hand, leading it to his shoulder. Soon, Ryuu felt his navy sweater dampened. He fetched his handkerchief and offered it to Kyuu. He was taken aback when Kyuu held his hand with both hands. The grip got tighter and Ryuu could hear the small sobs. He grasped Kyuu’s hands and his other hand stroked Kyuu’s head softly. They stood there in silence for some time.

Kyuu’s sobs slowed down, then he took some deep breaths. He took the handkerchief from Ryuu’s hand and slowly wiped his tears. Ryuu let go of his hand when Kyuu raised his head. He could see Kyuu’s smile, not the usual clumsy smile, but more of a serene one. It was another side of Kyuu he just discovered. Ryuu returned the smile with a pleased one.

Kyuu faced the gravestone once again, “Thank you, Ojisan.” He paused before adding, “I mean, Otousan.” The wide smile was back in place.

Still smiling widely, he took the wooden bucket and grabbed Ryuu’s hand, “C’mon Ryuu, my mom asked you to have lunch with us!” Ryuu knew he was blushing hard, but he still let himself be led by Kyuu that way, under the bright blue sky.

_FIN_

* * *

**Baconian Cipher** by Francis Bacon in 1605, is a method of ciphering letters into patterns of five binary-typeface characters. In this case, Satoru was using _normal_ and _bold_ typefaces. Let's try and solve the puzzle in this story!

Here’s the original text (without the word ‘up’)  
I **w** ill n **e** v **er** g **i** ve u **p**. I **f** a **d** et **e** ct **i** v **e** **g** iv **e** s up, **t** he **ca** se **wil** l **r** emai **n** **u** n **sol** ved. E **ven** i **f** d **e** ath **c** o **m** e **s** , **I** wil **l** n **e** ve **r** g **i** ve

First, we break them into five characters while retaining the typeface  
I **W** ILL N **E** V **ER** G **I** VEU **P** I **F** A **D** ET **E** CT **I** V **EG** I V **E** SUP **T** HE **CA** SE **WIL** L **R** EMA I **NU** N **S** **OL** VED E **VEN** I **F** D **E** AT H **C** O **M** E **SI** WIL **L** N **E** VE **R** G **I** VE

Next, let's turn them into patterns (we will use n for normal typeface and B for bold typeface)  
nBnnn nBnBB nBnnn BnBnB nnBnn BnBBn nBnnn BnnBB nnBBB nBnnn nBBnB BBnnn nBBBn BnBnn nBnBn BBnnn BnBnn BnBnn

Last, we match the patterns with the second version of Baconian cipher  
I L I V E W I T H I N Y O U K Y U U

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading so far. I really hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  
> Comments and criticism are very welcomed!
> 
> References  
> Chapter 172 for King Hades' last moments with Ryuu and Kyuu's mom revealing Renjou Satoru to Kyuu.


End file.
